The Ultimate Guide To Travel Abroad After Graduation
“Stop dreaming about your bucket list and start living”. Anette White
I guess on your bucket list you have the aim to travel somehow. Maybe your purpose it’s to travel around the five continents, to go to Las Vegas or to climb the Everest. Travel helps you learn who you are, gives you a sense of accomplishment and proves that dreams come true.
Disclaimer: Before planning your travel, check the COVID-19 restrictions for both the traveled country and your home country.
How to travel abroad when you are young and have no money?
First, you need to figure out how much your trip will cost. The problem that young people have is the lack of money. Try saving a little and create a travel budget. Here you have some travel hacks that will help you travel while you are broke.
Travel dates
When planning your travel, it's important to be flexible with the dates. If you travel off season or on weekends, flights and hotels are cheaper. Also, you have to consider that what can be off season in one country, may not be in another.
If your dates are set, you can use travel search engineslike Kayak to find the cheapest option.
Destination
There are some countries that have a higher lifestyle cost than others. You can do a lot more with 100 euros in Budapest than in Paris. Here you have a ranking of the cheapest countries to travel by continent:
- Europe: Ukraine, Turkey, Georgia
- Africa: Morocco, Cape Verde
- America: Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Cuba
- Asia: Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines,
Hotels, Hostel, Inns - Where to stay?
When you are on a low budget, and you can't spend a lot of money on accommodation, your best options are hostels. These have common areas where you can meet new people and in some countries they offer free classes for guest. Most hostels offer free food, so you can save some extra money.
Reservation
Another trick is that prices will go up as time gets closer to your travel, so as soon as you plan everything, the cheaper it will be. Additionally, Tuesday is the cheapest priced day to book flights.
Don't forget to use a private browsing window and clear the cookies. Why? Because websites track the prices you've checked and raise those, so you feel the need to book before it highs again.
Another trick is to use a VPN, to find the best deal since prices vary depending on where you are booking from. There are some free chrome extensions that can change your location.
Live like a local
Once you are there, to save some extra money, It's a good idea to go to local markets to buy your dinner or use mass transport options like buses or subways instead of taxis. Also, you can find online blogs where local people share their own tricks.
Travel for free
There are Work exchange programmes where you can work cleaning rooms or helping in the kitchen for a few hours in exchange for accommodation in hostels or transport.
Another option are volunteering programs, where you can travel abroad all expenses paid. This one is a fascinating opportunity to travel while helping others. The destinations are not the most famous ones, but still you are living a different experience.
International Student Identify Card
You can get the ISIC card and get a lot of discounts all over the world. You only spend 10 euros, and you can get over 130.000 discounts. Not only travel discounts: you have a 10% off on Nike, 5 euros value meal on McDonald or free entries to some museums. So it's easy to amortize.
“It’s a big world out there, It would be a shame not to experience it”. J. D. Andrews
Where to travel without a Visa?
Getting a Visa can be hard. There are a lot of different types of visas and each one has its own requirements, fees, key dates, legislation,... Sometimes it's easier and cheaper to travel places where you only need your passport.
If you have a passport from Ireland, you can visit these countries without getting a visa before your trip:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
There are other countries where you can travel for a few months, for example you can stay in Canada for 6 moths without a Visa with some requirements. You can check the entire list on the World embassy website
“A journey with a thousand miles begins with a simple step”. Lao Tzu
COUNTRIES WHERE YOU WILL NEED A VISA and how to get it
CANADA: How to move to Canada? How to get a Visa?
The Canada government allows temporary tourist, students and workers to travel to Canada driving or by bus, boat or train for 90 days without the need of a VISA.
But if you want to travel from Ireland to Canada by plane, you will need an eTA. It will be electronically linked to your passport. To apply, you need to complete the online form and pay a $7 CAD (4.53 euros) fee.
If your specifications are different, and you want to know what visa do you need to travel to Canada, you can fulfil a questionnaire.
If you want to move to Canada and live there, you will need a PR (permanent resident) card. These are usually issued for 5 years and cost $50 (32.69 euros). If you want a PR card, you will need to be a permanent resident (live at least 730 days during five years) and send your application by ordinary mail in Canada. You can find all the specifications on the Canada Government website.
"Live life with no excuses, travel with no regret". Oscar Wilde
USA: How to travel to the USA? How to get a Visa there?
On one hand we have employment visas and work permits. There are about 37 types from trainee internships to professional entrepreneur. These allow you limited time in the USA and are employer and job specific.
- If you want to travel and spend less than 90 days per visit, you can apply for an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) visa waiver. Each time you renew a ESTA, you will need to pay a fee, currently $14 (11.56 euros) with a credit or debit card only, and you can use it for multiple entities for up to two years. In order to apply for this visa, you will need to fulfil the online form at least 72 hours prior to your departure. If you are interested, you have to register through the Department of Homeland Security website
- If you want to spend more time in the USA, your best option are the J-1 visa programme for students and recent graduates. To apply for a J-1 visa, first you need to apply into an exchange visitor program through a designated sponsoring organization. You can find a list of partner agencies on the embassy website.
On the other hand, there is the green card, that allows permanent residence. You can get one through the annual Diversity Visa Lottery, but only 160 Irish get a green card this way every year. If you want to apply for a green card, you need to meet the minimum requirements, such as having a high school education or two years of qualifying work experience. To submit your application, you will need to go to the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs Website
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”. Neale Donald Walsch
AUSTRALIA: How to travel to Australia? Which Visa should I get?
Australia has 16 different travel visas, 44 working visas,... This can be overwhelming, but here you have a form that helps you find the perfect Visa for your case:
If you want to travel to Australia just to travel and sightseeing the country, there are two options that you will find interesting:
- If you want to spend less than 3 months, your best option is the eVisitor visa. It’s free and allows you to travel Australia as often as you wish in a 12-month period staying up to 3 months each time you enter. You should be concerned that 90% of applications are processed in 85 days.
- If you want to spend more than 3 months each time you enter, you must apply a Tourist Stream. This Visa costs outside Australia from AUD145 (93.13 euro), If you apply outside Australia, and From AUD365 (234.07 euros), if you apply in Australia. 75% of applications are process in 6 months and 90% of applications in 9 months, so make sure to apply with plenty time.
You can apply both visas on the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs website
If you want to work in Australia. the visa that will interest you the most is the Temporary Graduate visa. This one is a temporary visa that allows international students to live, study and work after you have finished your studies. It allows you to stay up to 18 months and costs from AUD1,650 (414.86 euros). 75% of applications are processed in 5 months and 90% of applications in 7 months. There are a lot of requirements to apply for this visa, then If you want to know if you are eligible, you can check the Australia Government Department of Home Affairs website.
There are three types of consecutive visas:
- Graduate Work stream (18 months).
- Post-Study Work stream (2 and 4 years).
- Second Post-Study Work stream (2 and 4 years).
If you are not eligible for the previous visa and your objective is to work in Australia but for a short period of time, you should apply for a Working Holiday visa. It allows Irish citizens from 18 to 35 years old (inclusive) to have an extended holiday in Australia and work there to help fund their trip. There are three types of visas:
- First Working Holiday visa
- Second Working Holiday visa (for example, you need to have done 3 months of specified work while your First Working Holiday visa to become eligible)
- Third Working Holiday visa
Each one permits you 12 months in Australia and costs AUD485 (311.08 euros). 75% of applications are processed in 70 days and 90% of applications in 4 months
You can apply both visas on the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs website
“Travel expands the mind and fills the gap”. Sheda Savage
Resume
After reading this article, you should know all the tricks to travel without spending a lot of money and how to apply to different visas depending on the objective of your trip. Obviously, it's recommended that you check the different websites of the country you want to travel to, so you are fully prepared for your stay.
Hope you found this blog interesting and don't forget to share it with your fellow travellers.
